Unexpected Results: 8 surprises discovered 10 years after the tsunami


Life’s journey takes remarkable turns. For many tsunami survivors, unexpected surprises greeted them.

“Silver lining after the tsunami,” is how businesswoman Armanuzah describes it. She’s living in an area ravaged by the 2004 tsunami, helming a business that provides income for 40 women in her village.

She’s one of countless unimaginable tales that emerged after the worst natural disaster in generations. Families who lost everything, even loved ones, are finding new opportunities.

Here’s eight incredible tales that offer a little redemption as the world marks the 10th tsunami anniversary this December.

1. Sri Lanka: An Art Movement Starts

A primary school dropout created a child art movement after the 2004 tsunami. He helped young tsunami survivors use art as a tool to express their fears, pain and hopes. Today, he continues to inspire children as he visit schools and children’s homes, on an art mission.

2. Indonesia: Finding love, Founding a Cracking Business
Hasan’s family was stolen. The 2004 tsunami killed his wife and four children. He survived, along with two of his daughters, and found new love with a single mother who volunteered in the aid effort. Together, they’ve forged a new family and created a business that melts in your mouth.

3. India: How technology has improved the lives of fishing families
Ten years ago, Thennavan eked out a living by fishing from a tiny raft – a raft that was smashed in the 2004 tsunami. When World Vision provided him with a new fishing boat, nets and GPS equipment, Thennavan’s business started booming.

4. Thailand: Reviving a Lost Art
Twenty-five tsunami affected women are bringing a lost handicraft to life. By hand painting traditional textiles, they’re recalling their heritage and providing the next generation with insight into their culture.

5. Sri Lanka: Providing Prosthetic Limbs for Tsunami Survivors
If anyone knows the importance of having a prosthetic limb, it’s Gnanesena. This Sri Lankan legal assistant lost his leg during a gun attack on a bus. A few years later, when the tsunami hit, Gnanesena knew he had to help the injured survivors. How he did it

6. Indonesia: Empowering Women through Savings & Loans
A group of 97 women in one northern Indonesian village are flexing their business muscles. They’re running roadside snack stalls, farming enterprises or small grocery kiosks – thanks to a saving and loans program started in their village. The results: less abuse, more respect.

7. India: Transforming Salty Land into Flourishing Fields
The tsunami flushed thousands of litres of seawater agricultural land – killing all growth and making the hundreds of acres unusable for the next 20 years. But the tsunami’s destruction met its nemesis. Farmers revived their fields. How?

8. Thailand: Irrigating a Seed of Hope
A survivor takes on farming after the tsunami steals his livelihood. How it’s changed his family

Note: World Vision walked alongside 40,000 tsunami survivors as they completed training courses and received equipment to start-up their small businesses. It’s one of the ways the organization aids natural disasters survivors – ensuring families have an income to provide for their needs.